months ahead. >> the presidt's called for a fix of short-term spending cuts and tax reform hit a brick on capitol hill. politico reporting that obama's plan dead on arrival, and house speaker john boehner was speaking on capitol hill, right now saying that his party plans to stand with the american people and we want to show you exactly what he had to say about that yesterday. >> on two occasions has passed a plan to replace the sequester. it's time for the senate democrats to do that work. it's time for the president to offer his ideas about how to replace the sequester. >> his first answer to everything is new taxes. and when you think about it, what happened in january, he got $600 billion in new revenue, where were the spending cuts? now again he wants to raise taxes. i think it's time for us to cut spending. >> now with 1,379 days gone

since the last time congress passed a budget and with the country poised to take a poison pill of cuts, what will it take? >> not passing a budget is shameful. and now you have the president saying well, i'm against the sequester cuts. well okay, great. well what are you going to replace them with? >> the republicans have other ideas. put them on the table. let's make a small deal. if we can't get to a big deal, he would like to get to a big deal. and he's invited them over, any time. >> so let's dive in right now. joining me is maryland's democratic congressman chris van holland, ranking member of the senate budget committee. right now house speaker boehner is telling reporters it's time iffer the president as well as senate democrats that they need to do their job to avoid the sequester in itself. what's your take on how this is going to all crack out? is it going to go down to the wire? >> well, thomas, first of all, the across the board sequester cuts will hurt the economy. republicans have acknowledged

that. and this is a very timely discussion we're having right now, because just over the last two days -- and i just came off the floor of the house, the house democrats proposed a substitute, an alternative to those across-the-board sequesters. we proposed you'd have a garage call cut in the direct foreign subsidies, that you would ask oil companies to get rid of the taxpayer subsidies they have. so we put forward a proposal that would substitute for these very negative across-the-board cuts, and unfortunately, republican colleagues denied us the opportunity to even have a vote on it. so it's great that speaker boehner is calling on the president to take action, when the speaker refused to have a vote on the proposal that we've offered just in the last 24 hours to replace the sequester through a combination of other more targeted cuts as well as revenue from closing tax breaks. >> one thing i want to show everybody, the nonpartisan congressional budget office was

without their forecast giving overall picture of where we stand and where we're going. the 2013 deficit standing at $845 billion. last year it was $1.1 trillion. so obviously we're going in the right direction. but they do give a grim fast if there is a type of austerity measure that is in place while the economy remains very fragile. >> well, that's right. there are two things we have to work on at the same time. the most important thing is to make sure that we continue to see an economic recovery, that we do what we can to accelerate that recovery, put more people back to work. and the sequester would undercut that effort, because if you take that much money out of the economy very rapidly in this across-the-board way, it will result in lost jobs, which is why we proposed this alternative. now over the longer term, there's no doubt we have to reduce our deficit, but we have to do it in a smart and balanced way as the president has said, and that's why we have proposed a combination of cuts and we've

already done $1.5 trillion in cuts as part of the budget control act and other action. we did some revenue as part of the most recent agreement on the fiscal cliff, but we need to continue to do a combination of targeted cuts and revenue from closing those tax loopholes. i remember -- i think the american people do -- mitt romney and paul ryan talked about all those tax loopholes that benefit very wealthy people. well, let's get rid of some of those to help reduce the deficit. >> i wanted to talk about the policy fights that are going on. and time is of the essence with what's going on with the sequester. we've got immigration, gun control, electoral changes that are in the works, all taking place, all these conversations happening simultaneously. and then we have your colleague congressman cantor coming out yesterday to talk about rebranding of the gop, and i just want to remind everybody what he had to say. take a look. >> our house majority will pursue an agenda that is based on a shared vision of creating the conditions of health, happiness and prosperity for

more americans and their families. we'll advance proposals aimed at producing results in areas like education, health care, innovation, and job growth. >> congressman, how does this rebraineding or the mission or the hope that the republican party has of trying to put some new paint on the brand mesh with all of the big policy fights that are going on right now in washington, d.c.? >> well, republicans know they're hurting after the last election, but they think the solution to this is somehow just to change the packaging, to change the way they talk about their policies, when the real problems are their underlying policies themselves. so, for example, the american people support comprehensive immigration reform. the president has put forth a proposal. we're looking at bipartisan proposals emerging from the senate. but the house for the most part under republican control is not taking any leadership on that issue. the same with gun safety issues. very common sense proposals, things like having a universal

background check. again, the house is sitting on their hands. all they want to deal with are some of these budget gimmicks they're talking about and not even there, get at the underlying issue of jobs in the economy. so, again, the big issue for republicans is this fight that's going on between the tea party wing of their caucus and the others. we see that reflected in karl rove's new group. but the result is very bad for the american people because it means that we're not able the move forward in the house of representatives on these very important measures. it's time for them to exert a little leadership instead of simply always pointing the finger at the president on these various issues, when in fact the president is taking action and simply allowing -- asking, thomas, for a vote on some of these things. i mean, our lrepublican colleagues in the house are free to vote against immigration reform. let's have a vote. >> great to see you. real quick, on a personal note, i know your dad passed away, the

ambassador just recently, 90 years old. >> thank you, thomas. >> and my parents who grew up on lake avenue just down the street. so they know your family very well. but again, our deepest condolences to your and yours. thank you, sir. >> thank you, thomas. >> want to bring in our wednesday morning political power panel. we have joanne reid, doug thornell, republican strategist hogan. the democratic strategy session that's going on, the immigration, the gun control, the electoral changes that are going to take place. but it was really interesting yesterday, as we saw with eric cantor coming out, rebranding or wanting to rebrand the republican party and where they're starting. it seems as if this message is one that we've heard before but from a different person. take a look. >> well, it starts by making

sure that everyone in america gets a fair shot at success. >> our goal is to ensure that every american has a fair shot to earn success. >> that's why immigrants from around the world historically have flocked to our shores. >> that hope led generation of immigrants to risk everything to endure a tough journey to come to our shores. >> we should be giving people the chance to get new skills and training. >> as job markets are emerging, more skills and training are needed. >> so the rebranding is about going to pre-election speeches and drafting those as your own now post-election for eric cantor? >> it's amazing, because "fair shot" has been such a signature phrase for barack obama. he's been using it for over a year. so it really was striking to hear eric cantor literally lifting lines from barack obama. i guess what the republican party has decided is barack obama is popular so they need to sound more like him.

that doesn't mean they're going to change their underlying policy but they sure do want to sound like the guy who's more popular. >> there has been a lot of pushback from the conservative entertainment complex, one being rush limbaugh. i want to hear what he had to say after eric cantor's speech. >> there isn't any resistance to obama anywhere. and it's going to get worse. even from this point. it is because of who obama is and what his policies are and the perception that the american people massively support it all. and that's cantor is saying we're going to have to do a better job of explaining who we are. we need to do a better job of explaining why we're doing what we're doing. that's -- i think -- well, that epitomizes how lost they all

feel. and right now, folks, there is no fight. >> so hogan, they have been labeled -- the right, that is, as the party of no. if eric cantor is rearticulating the position, is it basically just saying going from no, to nooo -- just to slow it down? because schultz was saying that eric cantor has a new tube of lipstick but it's the same old pig. >> right. i don't think we need any republican candidates that are any less conservative. i think we need republican candidates that are more practical. i deal with this all the time with candidates our firm handles. you say all the things you want to. you can throw all the bombs you want to, but a lot of times, candidates on both sides -- republicans are definitely guilty of this, they talk about things they can't accomplish because it's not a dictatorship once they get to office. and b, you have to work with other people. it's not like you can go in there and under the purview of what you do in that particular off, it doesn't even handle that particular issue. so we need conservatives out there who understand, they can be as conservative as they want

to be, but you have to move the balfour ward. you have to govern something. you have to show the people of this nation you care about what they care about. now, whether the legislation comes through a democrat president, a conservative congress, a democrat senate, that's different story. but either way, republicans have a real challenge here because they don't have the pulpit of presidency and we are in somewhat of a disarray here trying to rebrand and regroup as we move forward. >> let's talk about that, the bully pulpit of the presidency, because politico is saying that president obama's fill in the blank sales pitch -- so wahatevr it comes to, whether it's immigration, gun violence, the sequester, that they say tout what he's already done, say the public's in his corner, demand congress to do something, lament washington dysfunction, warn it won't be easy, bask and applause. does it seem that it's become just that formulaic to get stuff done in washington, d.c., at least when it is the president's

idea that he's trying to push through? >> well, if i can just say one thing. i think the obama folks should ask eric cantor for a check for some of his speech writing. >> you think there are residuals for that? >> residuals, right. now, i think the president is showing some very good message discipline. it's something that hogan and myself and others really try to impress upon folks when they're trying to make their case. but the president has shown throughout his career that he thinks that change starts from the outside-in. i think that was how he approached his first campaign and second campaign and that's how he's approaching his legislative agenda. he's taking his message to the road. these are issues, whether it's immigration reform, whether it's gun violence, whether it's supporting the middle class, they have strong popular support. i mean, these are the issues that the american people voted on and supported the president on and i think he's doing the right thing. he's activating his base and he's asking them to help get this agenda through a very dysfunctional congress. >> so when we talk about the

dysfunctioning congress right now, let's talk about some of the policy fights that are taking place, and immigration is front and center. and right now, if we take the temperature of the american people, the abc "washington post" poll shows exactly where they feel that the president is doing, 49% are approving of the president's stance on immigration at 38% back in july, 43% disapprove. that number was higher back in july at 52%. is this something where unless the president stays ahead of the curve here and basically like a surfer reads the waves that are coming in, they're going to lose ground because republicans have everything to gain from looking like they're leading on the immigration debate. >> right. but the problem is the republicans also have a divided base. the political people in the republican party, the hogan gidleys of the world understand they have to move on immigration. but their base has been taught a very different lesson for a long time and it's a lot harder to quiet the conservative activists who are just angry that the party won't just double down on

conservative principles. i think the president is pursuing i think a smart strategy. it's different from what he did his first term where he went one issue at a time and sort of seated the public fight over it to the right where the tea party came in on health care reform. this time he's flooding the zone. they're pushing out so many issues so often that the republican party isn't having an opportunity to deal with any one of them in a coherent way and they're just letting the republicans fight. >> their own defense all the time. go ahead. i'll give do you last word. >> real quickly, marco rubio is a great example, very conservative, but very practical on this issue. barack obama is doing a two-pronged strategy that i think is effective. he is taking it to the people, he's trying to get that ground swell of grass roots support. that's how you move the country in the direction you want to go. however, the second prong, which we know has been a well-documented problem for the president, his disdain for the process. he's going to have to get better at calling some democrats in, calling republicans in, and hammering out legislation to move the balfol forward.

if he does that, his agenda would have it move a lot quicker than republicans would have it move. >> i do appreciate your time and your insights. one thing to pass along, keeping a close eye on developing news right now. the boy scouts have delayed the vote on lifting ban on lesbian and gay members. we're going to explain why they have take an push to later in the spring. plus, big news from the post office today. starting in august, it will stop delivering mail on saturdays. packages only still coming to you. the five-day delivery schedule will save the struggling agency about $2 billion. that's a lot of cash. our question to you, will you miss saturday mail delivery? you can tweet me or find me on facebook. there's nothing worse than getting a bill on a saturday. nothing worse than that. we're back after this. ♪ don't know what i'd do ♪ i'd have nothing to prove [ male announcer ] introducing the celebration diamond collection. zales is the diamond store. let love shine.

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a long-awaited decision on whether the boy scouts will lift its ban on gay members is on hold. they decided to delay the vote that was scheduled for today until the organization's next meeting. that is scheduled for may. so that they can actually further deliberate on the matter itself. the stunning news comes as a new quinnipiac poll finds that more than half of americans support dropping the ban on gay members. with me to talk more about this, pete williams. and here in new york with me, zack walls. he's also the author of the book "my two moms: lessons of love, strength, and what makes a family." great to have you here. pete, the bax fasic facts of whe know about how this decision came down, because a lot of people were anticipating how this vote was going to go today, but they've pushed it until

later in the spring. >> what the boy scouts' statement says is that they received what they call an outpouring of feedback from the american public and they say due to the complexity of the issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its policy. so it's not only putting the decision off until may of this year, that's one thing. but the second thing is they say the decision in may will be made not by the board, which the organization meet taking in texas, but by a much larger national council, 1,400 voting members of that. and so the question is whether the national council, which includes more members of the sponsoring churches that are involved in scouting, would come to a different conclusion about this than the board would. that's the thing that is also put in play by this decision. so it's not merely the delay, it's the fact that a different

entity of the boy scouts will be making the decision, not just the board. >> when we talk specifically about the board, there's james turley, and randall stephenson, the ceo of at&t. they have said they support lifting this ban, welcoming gay members and leaders into the organization. as pete was pointing out -- >> and thomas? one other thing. the significant thing about that is that randall stephenson is the next in line to be president of the boy scouts, so he's not just a member. he's a big deal member. >> so you make a great distinction there about where this is going. because if he does support this, zack, the fact that he along with other board members would like to see this ban lifted, why do you think that it would get pushed to this larger voting body? and do you find that to be encouraging or less encouraging? >> it's disappointing. it's absolutely an abdication of

responsibility. the boy scouts of america was founded on basic values, respect, courtesy, kindness, bravery. this is walking away from that. what we're going to see is thousands of scouts and scout families all over the country continue to suffer from the silence of shame that some people have forced upon them by saying that their views about what it means to be gay trumps these basic scouting values. so while we are very disappointed by today's announcement and we think this is not a move in the right direction, we will continue to work with local councils all over the country, to continue to highlight why this is a bad move and why it's hurting local organizations all over the country. >> you've been out front on this topic. you're in your eagle scout uniform today. i want to show everybody the numbers. because 2.7 million members in the boy scouts. currently membership is down, some 21% since the year 2000. that's a really big decline. >> absolutely, and especially in the cub scouting program where you have younger parents who are

part of the tail end of generation x who embrace marriage equality on one hand, lgbt rights on the other and see that there's nothing to fear when people are living who they truly are. the very first part of the scout law, a scout is trustworthy. and if you are going to force people into the closet and institute a policy of don't ask don't tell, how can you possibly lift the very first and most important rule of the scout sflau. >> and when we look at the other side of things, the girl scouts have girl scout dad. so men who are considered to be heterosexual have access to little young developing girls. what it boils down to is the fact that they're worried about some type of pedophilia. >> nobody is truly worried about youth protection here. the boy scouts of america has one of the most pristine youth protection records since the implement of their new program in the early '90s. it is absolutely one of the best in the world. this is about some people using the fear that they're able to conjure up by talking about what it means to be a gay person in america, to scare other people

into moving away from traditional scouting values like courteous, kindness and respect. >> thanks so much. pete williams, zach wahls, the author of "my two moms." we'll follow this story and see where it takes us in may. the pentagon also making changes to its policy on same-sex spouses. the military will extend some benefits to those couples. leon panetta has not made a final decision on which benefits will be included, possibly health and welfare programs. an announcement is expected in the next few days that will clear that up. straight ahead, targeting u.s. terrorists. just how effective are those military drone strikes? general barry mccafferty is going to weigh in. a change for monopoly and some may call it the cat's meow. so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes?

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more now on the major change to mail delivery. the post office announcing it will no longer deliver mail on saturdays, although it will continue to deliver packages six days a week. this is a major change, but it could save the cash-strapped agency $2 billion. but that would mean a very small dent to make up for the $15.9 billion that it lost in the last fiscal year. tom costello in our washington bureau are more on this. this is something people have been talking about for a long time. we've already gotten the fact on the other end of things that stamp prices have gone up, but they were looking at ways to make a major dent. does this do it? >> no, it doesn't do it. it doesn't meet the entire deficit, if you will. they're losing $16 billion a year, and this is important. you've got to understand why they're losing it. the biggest reason they're losing so much money is because they, unlike any other government entity, they are forced to pay in advance for the

retirement medical benefits of their retirees even before they retire. so as a result, that huge chunk of cash that they have to set aside is costing them a fortune and it is a huge drag on the postal service. second to that, yes, all of us are using e-mail and paying our bills online. and therefore first class mail has dropped off a cliff. however, package delivery has increased dramatically because you and i are shopping online and all of those packages are sent to our homes. so that's been up 14% over two years. so in the view of many, this is the postal service trying to force the hand of congress. congress has had this on their agenda for years and has failed to act, even though the postal service year after year after year comes out and says it's getting worse, it's getting worse, we're running out of money, we don't have any money. congress hasn't acted. at this point, the postal service says it believes it has the authority to do this on its own. members of congress, however,

are saying not so fast. we want to weigh in on this. i can tell you that republican darrell iso from california, he says that he would support this, but other members aren't so sure. so we'll have to see how this plays out in congress. you can bet they've had a voice in this. >> they've had some blowback already with their reaction, saying they've gone through this arbitrary action without going through congress. tom costello, thank you. >> you bet. want to show you this picture, after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck near solomon islands this morning. government officials do confirm five deaths. the powerful quake triggered a small tsunami which nearly wiped out two towns in the pacific island nation. here's a look at some of the stories topping the news. bombs were found in the bunker where jimmy lee dykes held a 5-year-old boy hostage. police in texas have now released a 911 tape reported

moments after the shooting death of chris kyle this weekend. on that tape, the sister of the suspected killy eddie routh is heard speaking with 911 dispatch. >> my brother just came by here, i wasn't -- he's now left and he told me that he committed a murder. i'm terrified for my life. i don't know if he's going to come back here. get out those snow boots. a winter storm could drop more than a foot of snow on new england. lance armstrong is in the clear. federal prosecutors say that armstrong's admission to taking performance-enhancing drugs during his tour de france competitions won't change their decision to prosecute. champion skier lindsey vonn is heading home after a terrifying crash during the world competition yesterday where vonn tore two ligaments in her right knee and will undergo surgery coming up next week. singer chris brown in trouble again?

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some members of congress want etch more information on the president's controversial drone program. now that it's been revealed that the justice department says it's legal to kill abroad if they are suspected of being terrorists but the white house says it's necessary. >> we only take these kinds of actions when there's an imminent threat, when capture is not feasible and when we are confident that we are doing so in a way that's consistent with federal and international law. >> these strikes are legal. they are ethical and they are

wise. >> legal, ethical and wise. joining me now is general barry mccaffery. let's talk about the fine line between doing what's legal here and what's right. are these drone killings making our country safer? >> well, first of all, i think it's a legitimate debate and congress should be engaged with oversight of both the cia and the department of defense. i think the discussion is probably helpful. having said that, thomas, you know, we've killed more than 3,000 jihadists in the last several years of these drone campaigns, hundreds of strikes. they were running them out of iraq, afghanistan, yemen, you name it. they've been an important tool to keeping the american people safe. so i think we should keep in mind that these are not law enforcement operations. they're acts of war against a terrorist threat to the united states. >> so the drone program, if we

look at it, it has ramped up under the president. there have been 400 -- more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. as we look back over history, that's eight times as many under president bush. now, the drone attacks, they often have collateral damage. they kill civilians. so doesn't that strain the ongoing future relations between the u.s. and countries where these attacks are taking place, because aren't we creating more problems for themselves when a civilian is killed and they dedicate themselves to trying to retaliate. >> i think it's a legitimate concern. the laws of warfare, the four major principles essentially deal with avoiding excessive civilian casualties. so i think there is a requirement for some real diligence and caution in how we carry these out. one of the arguments i heard is we're targeting people we don't

really even know their names. for gosh sakes, i crawled around in the mud trying to shoot it out with people 20 feet away in combat and didn't know their names. these are imminent terrorist threats to the united states' security. so again, it's a legitimate debate. we should be cautious. but it's a lot more targeted and surgical by far than shooting artillery at taliban units in eastern afghanistan. >> as we wait, lawmakers are going to be grilling john brennan, the architect of this policy during his confirmation hearings for cia director, and that's coming up tomorrow. do you think that this is going to have a big impact, a lot of questions during that confirmation directly on this? >> brennan was put on the grill before over the so called torture memos. he's a career cia officer. he's a magnificent public servant. he's extremely knowledgeable. i'm sure he will be questioned

closely about all this. and that's appropriate. having said that, he's not the architect of anything. this is a responsibility the commander in chief, the secretary of defense and the cia director. so that's who we ought to hold accountable. >> are drone strikes the future? >> well, all the other nations are now building drones. and so again, there's precedence here that we should be concerned about. because this sort of tool will be use against us in the coming decades. having said that, we've got to protect the american people. we have decimated al qaeda globally. it's astonishing how well we have done against a lot of these people. a lot of that was during a drawdown of conventional military power in iraq and afghanistan. arguably the obama team has done an excellent job of keeping the american people safe. >> sir, it's always great to see you. thank you. >> good to be with you. speaking of the president's cabinet, there are some new details that are emerging. a white house official says

president obama will nominate sally jewel as secretary of the interior. she is the chief executive of outdoor company recreational equipment inc., rei. word that the congressional black caucus wants president obama to nominate james clyburn. she says a letter to the white house making the recommendation because he has worked on several transportation issues. so if you have a flat tire, dead battery, need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!!

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on this day in black history, we look at a trailblaz trailblazer, representative collins cardiss. she led the congressional black caucus from 1979 to 1981. on this day in 1993, the tennis world lost a true champion, arthur ashe, who died from complications of aids. he became an activist in his

later years after contracting hiv from a blood transfusion. long after being criticized as not being supportive of israel, the white house now announcing that president obama is heading there next month. it's the president's first visit there since taking office. peter alexander joining me now. it's been reported that the president's relationship with the prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been somewhat strained, but the president obviously feeling comfortable in the fact that he's going to go there and meet firsthand with benjamin netanyahu. >> the two are certainly in communication with great frequency, but it's not just reported that there had been friction, we sort of witnessed it when the two were meeting just a couple years back. you remember what appeared to be netanyahu lecturing president obama. the president didn't seem to be too content with that moment when it took place. they moved past some of that friction during the last four years, during this trip that is expected to take place at some

point during march. jay carney saying specifically that it was an opportunity to reaffirm what he called the deep and enduring bonds between the two countries, among the topics they'll discuss, of course iran and syria. looks to be more, though, an issue to reaffirm the friendship than it does an effort to ambitiously go after renewing the peace talks between the israelis and palestinians. president obama, this has been a source of contention. the romney campaign went after him for what they thought was an insufficient relationship in connection with the state of israel. but the president isn't the only one who hasn't been to israel until this point in his presidents. there's been only four other presidents that have been to israel, nixon, carter, bush two went there twice, and clinton who made four. >> thank you, sir. appreciate it. governor chris christie gets serious about the scale. it is time now for the poly side

bar. just one day after joke around with david letterman about his weight, the governor admitted it's really not something to laugh about. >> of course i care about it. and i'm making the best effort i can. and sometimes i'm successful, and other times i'm not. and sometimes periods of great success are followed by periods of great failure. >> governor christie says his doctor often warns him of the health risks of being overweight. comedian chris rock might joke around about gun violence, but he's really serious about this issue. he's in washington, d.c. right now teaming up with other celebrities, members of congress, and mayors against illegal guns in support of the president's gun violence plan. senator marco rubio showed off his not so serious side during an interview yesterday, and get this, his love of '90s rap music, particularly tupac. >> i think that tupac's lyrics are probably more insightful, in my opinion, with all apologies to the biggie fans.

>> so actress ashley judd's ongoing consideration run for u.s. senate, but she's already being targeted by karl rove. check out the $10,000 campaign ad by his super pack american cross roads. >> a leader who knows how to follow. >> i will go wherever the president wants know go. >> someone who will never forget where she came from. >> and it just clicked, tennessee is home. and it just clicked, tennessee is home. >> kentucky. >> the ad is going to run in kentucky for two weeks. president obama called john harbaugh, the head coach of the baltimore ravens, to congratulate the team on their super bowl victory. fans, they packed the streets of baltimore yesterday, and the team's stadium so celebrate that win. but it was the safety ed reed who really stole the show. did you see this? ♪ two tickets to paradise pack your bags we can leave tonight

whoa whoa whoa whoa ♪ >> that, of course, the rendition of eddie money singing that song. maybe you've seen the eddie money commercial on tv where he sings that song. maybe you're even going to see it right now during this break. we're back after this. well now i'm her dietitian and last year, she wasn't eating so well. so i recommended boost complete nutritional drink to help her get the nutrition she was missing. and now she drinks it every day. well, it tastes great! [ male announcer ] boost has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones, and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. and our great taste is guaranteed or your money back. learn more at boost.com [ dietitian ] now, nothing keeps mom from doing what she loves... being my mom. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems.

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so where he asked and you answered, will you miss saturday mail delivery. from clarence? what? that will totally throw off my netflix groove. glenda says no. and dan says three days in a row without mail delivery on holiday weekends? not good. embattled florida governor rick scott is prepping for all out political warfare. politico is reporting that scott is drawing up plans for the most ste expensive re-election fight, the likely price tag $100 million. the 2014 fight could pit scott

against recently turned democrat charlie crist. joining me now alexander burns of politico. when we talk about this, it says scott's strategists could model their massive machine after president obama's florida campaign. so if they take a page from the democratic handbook here, is that a sign of confidence about how they feel about scott's campaign or a sign of trouble? >> i think in some ways lessons learned from 2012. looking at what the president did in florida where he found every obama friendly voter and turned them out to the polls about rick scott will need to replicate something like that going into a re-election campaign as difficult as this one. >> so we talked this fight could put him up against charlie crist. again, he was the republican governor, then independent, now democrat. charlie crist has not decided definitively if he's running, correct? >> that's right. when you look at the polling and

when you look at chatter in democratic circles in florida and nationally, there is a sense crist is the strongest general election candidate, although he has a set of baggage of his own that certainly the folks on the scott side think they can use to their own great advantage. >> but when we talk about what's going on currently in florida and the voting issues that took place in the national election, what's being done in materials of shoring up that situation? because wouldn't governor scott be having to battle the leftover shadows of what took place there and that won't bode well for him. >> when you talk to republicans about what scott needs to do is turn things around for the re-election, part of it is spend a lot of money. part of it is use the next three on to six months to deal with some of those issues around voting, around health care, around some other state issues like education that have really driven down his poll numbers with independent voters in particular. if he can set himself up over the next couple months to then

spend all that money as a candidate, maybe he can be competitive in this thing. >> i want to talk to you about the other governors, the republican governors around the country, specifically john kasich, saying this week that he would embrace the medicaid under president obama's health care law and he joins republican governors of arizona, nevada, new mexico, north dakota. does this signal a tipping point? >> i don't know that it signals a tipping point for republicans nationally.conservative consensus on health care is very much still dug in against obamacare. but for folks like john kasich facing a re-election campaign, it's not necessarily so easy to take a purely ideological stance on something like medicare expansion. >> but if they embrace it, get reelected, is it a dead issue? >> i don't know if it's a comfortable issue for the whole national party. >> thank you, sir. good to see you. that will wrap up things for me today. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.

joining me on the show, charlie rangel and p.j. crowley, ron reagan and joy ann reid. alex wagner comes your way for the next hour. >> hello, thomas. whether it is guns, immigration or spending, are republicans gearing up for an sx sfreem makeover or just another spin cycle? we'll rinse and review with maggie ababerman and ask former white house chief of staff about president obama's agenda and his buddies on on the hill. and michelle rhee joins us. [ male announcer ] house rule number 53. big time taste should fit in a little time cup. new single serve cafe collections from maxwell house now available for use in the keurig k-cup brewer. always good to the last drop.

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lyrica is fda approved to treat diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eye sight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or skin sores from diabetes. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who've had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today. it's specific treatment for diabetic nerve pain. to hear more of terry's story, visit lyrica.com. the gop has a new strategy. the media is the message.

it's wednesday, february 6, and this is now. joining me today, rick hertzburg of the new yorker. i can't read anything on this teleprompter. author of thomas jefferson, the art of power. a drum roll, please, for random house executive editor john meacham making his debut. and matt haberman and mr. sunday morning himself. the republican party isn't just getting a new do. they're going for a full makeover. majority leader eric cantor, who voted down the dream act just two years ago, appeared to evolve on immigration yesterday backing a path to citizenship for dreamers. >> one of the great founding principles of our country was that chi